Google's Digital Skills Academy.
Google
LONDON — Google has opened a new "Digital Skills Academy" at one of its Central London offices as it looks to familiarise as many people as possible with its products and make people more online savvy.

The 40,000 square foot space — based in an existing Google office at 123 Buckingham Palace Road in Victoria —will be filled with Google products and Google staff who will aim to pass on their knowledge to the Academy's attendees.

Ronan Harris, Google UK MD, said in a statement: "The Academy has been created to educate and inspire everyone from schoolchildren to CEOs as part of Google's plans to help build digital capability across the country."

The Academy will run a range of tailored courses, a Google spokesperson said, adding that the first course will commence this week and that it'll be run in collaboration with youth charity Prince's Trust. It's unclear how much the courses cost.

The space has been designed with a "retro Brighton" theme in mind, which means there is an "Electric Cinema, Beach, and Funfair styled auditoriums."

Google
Rajesh Agrawal, Deputy Mayor for Business, added: "I am pleased that Google is helping to make digital training and educational programmes available to people from all backgrounds.

"Schemes like this perfectly compliment the Mayor's Digital Talent Programme that will nurture the next generation of digital enthusiasts so we can continue to provide all businesses in London with much-needed home-grown digital talent."

Elsewhere in London, Google is in the process of setting up a giant new headquarters in King's Cross that will be able to accommodate up to 7,000 Googlers when it is finished. Google also has an office at Tottenham Court Road and a startup space in Shoreditch called "Campus".